UC
Here at Nemertes we’re about mid-way into our 2010 benchmark process, interviewing about 200 companies on their plans for UC, among other technologies. One interesting issue that we continue to see is a disconnect between those planning for UC adoption, and those planning to deploy virtualized thin-client desktops to replace thick applications. Desktop virtualization offers some pretty compelling benefits–reducing the need for hardware, enabling better security control, improving support for mobile or home workers, and easing the process of upgrading applications. Based on our last round of research, approximately 40% of companies are at some stage of virtual desktop deployment, while most of the rest are either evaluating or running a pilot. However, there’s a problem brewing – desktop virtualization isn’t compatible with most softphone or desktop video applications as it’s impractical to carry raw voice and/or video across the network before it’s encapsulated at the data center. In normal desktops, encapsulation happens on the PC. But where do you convert voice and video to packets if all you are running locally is a virtual screen? Thus the director of telecomm and IT for one organization we recently spoke to told us that for his company, a rich UC client was simply not possible for now. Instead, their approach is to leverage a UC dashboard (e.g., IBM Lotus Sametime, Microsoft Office Communicator) for presence, instant messaging, and click-to-call while requiring a dedicated phone for voice. While this is the preferred approach of some companies that are concerned about voice/video quality for software-based applications, it represents an additional, and often unplanned expense for those that wish to move more rapidly to software-based solutions. Fortunately, vendors are stepping up to the plate to deal with these challenges. Examples include Mitel’s “Unified IP Client for Sun Ray,” Citrix’s HDX RealTime for supporting locally connected USB devices, or thin-client devices from Wyse (supported by NEC) that localize voice and video processing in either a phone or DSP-equipped terminal server adapter. As interest in UC as well as desktop virtualization continues to grow, expect more conflicts within IT shops as plans collide. IT managers should make sure they collaborate on their plans, and perhaps more importantly, work with their UC vendors to understanding their thin-client strategies.
